The Orphan
by trixter77
Summary: A young na'vi lost her family and life as she knew it during the Great Felling of Kelutrel, the old Hometree, but life moved on. Years later...will the memories destroy or define her? OC with cannon cameos; rated T for the hard knocks.
1. Mornings and Memories

**This is a piece of fiction that will be almost entirely original characters set in James Cameron's Avatar Universe. There may or may not be cameo appearances by cannon characters. All rights belong to the proper owners.**

**A few notes...this story contains a lot of flash backs, which will be in italics. Also, I will not be inserting random Na'vi language into this English written story, except in the cases of animal and proper names, or for things that have no real English translation. So please assume that everyone is speaking Na'vi unless I express specifically that English is being spoken. My assumption is that the Na'vi language has to have equivilents for any of the phrases that are spoken in my story.**

* * *

She opens her eyes and looks out through the spaces of her hammock, and has to admire the beauty of the rising sun's rays that are sifting through the green canopy. She's always loved morning best. The view from her hammock is actually better here than in the previous Hometree, where her sleeping spot had been too far inside the huge tree for early morning light to reach it. At the thought of the former nesting place of the Omaticaya clan, she closes her eyes and sends a prayer to Eywa; the memories are still fresh, even after seven cycles.

*************

_That morning, seven cycles previous... all of the Omaticaya children had been herded into the lower heart of Hometree, with but a few warriors to protect them. None of the clan expected that the attack from the Sky People would reach the Inner Circle. Some of the older children, nearing their Initiation, had tried to keep things calm, but they all knew their parents were going off to fight and the excitement couldn't be contained. Never, in their short lives, had there been such a mobilization, and despite the worried looks of their elders, not one of the children doubted the strength of those who were going to face the oncoming threat. The talk among the children was of victory._

_"My Father and his brothers took on a palulukan; the Sky People will be nothing to -that-!"_

_"I put the red paint on my mother's face, she is very fierce today!"_

_"If only I could go too! I'm nearly as good with the bow as my sister!"_

_"We will miss the clan's greatest triumph, stuck in here!"_

_"Oh be quiet, you are merely a baby."_

_"A baby?! I'll show you!"_

_A short friendly scuffle had started among them, and the warriors who watched were grinning to themselves when the first screams started. The scuffle forgotten in a moment, all the children looked up simultaneously. The warriors unsheathed their bows and made ready to protect the future generation. While the screams continued, the children huddled together, touching each other for comfort, ears flat and tails twitching nervously._

_A thick smoke started pouring into the Inner Circle and one of the first warriors in its way fell to the ground, twitching and retching. The children had gone to help and as some of them fell to the smoke, it was understood, finally, that the air was poison and the children started to scream themselves. A frantic scrambling ensued as the older children instructed the smaller to climb into the upper reaches to escape the gas. That was when the world started to come undone._

_She'd been climbing with the others when a sound louder than anything heard before crashed through her head and the Hometree gave a great lurch and started shaking uncontrollably. She'd been flung away from the bark she'd been gripping and flew through the air to land with a breath-taking thump against another of the tree's many branches. She scrabbled to the edge and watched as a few of her playmates fell much further, screaming loudly. Too shocked to move or do more than cling in fright to the branch she was on, a moment later she was grabbed roughly by the scruff, thrown up to the next branch, and an adult voice told her to keep moving..._

*************

She is broken from her memory by the distant call of an ikran. It is just as well, since she's never been able to recall who the owner of the voice was that had broken her terror freeze all that time ago. She shakes her braids to clear away the last fading sounds of screams, and jumps lightly onto the branch that holds up one end of her hammock. Grabbing her bow, she makes her way down Hometree (the new, smaller one). Moving silently past the sleeping places of other na'vi, she leaps nimbly down to the central ring. This is a common area for na'vi to gather together for doing things, but there are few up and about yet. The Na'vi, as a race, are half nocturnal and tended to sleep late into the mornings. As far as she could remember though, she'd always been an early riser. Mother would call her Little Ski'evi, for the tiny birds that would start chirping at the first sign of day. Mother....

*************

_"Mother? Mother!"_

_Flames were licking the charring bulk of Hometree all around her as she dazedly wondered away from the place she regained consciousness. Hometree had fallen and she couldn't even remember how she'd made it to the bottom. Tears were falling from her eyes at the devastation, and the screams of her clan were a constant echo in her ears. The smoke was making her cough and ashes were clinging to her fur. Forgotten were the happy tumblings with the other children as she desperately searched for anyone she knew._

_"Mother! Father!"_

_A burning branch crashed to the forest floor a few feet from her and she screamed, blindly running in the other direction. It seemed like the fire was pursuing her and the wind was pushing her back into it. In the distance she saw other na'vi running from fire and instinctively starting running towards them; towards some semblance of safety in her child's mind... an adult, any adult who would make things better. Make the world right again and make sense. she wasn't watching her footing as she normally would, when she tripped and fell over something. Looking back, she stared into the unseeing eyes of another Na'vi youth, the golden orbs glassy without a soul behind them to light them up. She screamed, and screamed..._

*************

"Ah! I see you! You are awake early."

She can't help but chuckle at the double meaning of the greeting as she turns around to greet the eldest female in the clan. She'd used the standard greeting with the slight deviation that children used when they were playing hiding games. There are barely any in the clan who remember her real name, but everyone calls her Sa'nook, which means Old Mother.

"I see you, Sa'nook. I was going to pick some fruit for breakfast, can I bring you some?"

"Such a thoughtful child, but I have already stolen some!" the old na'vi cackles and then winks at her. Everyone in the clan gives to Sa'nook but she is very proud so instead of giving things directly to her, they would leave it out and she would take as she needed. It was an old joke among the clan that she is supposed to be cranky and sly, when really Sa'nook is sweet and wise and well sought after for advice. She remembers well the first advice she'd received from the elder....

*************

_Barely more than half the clan had made it to the Well of Souls after the murder of Hometree by the Sky People. She'd trudged wearily along with her clan mates, following The Tsahik and her daughter to the only place that could comfort them now. The cries of her grieving clan seemed to go on forever without cease, but she'd long ago run out of tears to shed. She had been unable to find any trace of her family at the burning site, nor had she seen them on the trail to the Well of Souls, but she continued to hope that they were still with the hunting parties who were looking for other survivors. They'd just been too busy, obviously, to look for her yet. Or maybe they were still out there, looking for her, and soon they would come here and find her._

_Many in the clan were already beginning their grieving ritual, connecting to Eywa through the Mother Tree to commune with their loved ones and find peace within themselves. Yet, she refused; even as Eywa's tendrils seemed to reach for her own queue, she resisted, afraid that she would find her family at last, in the one place she didn't want to find them. This continued for many weeks as the clan prepared for the new battle against the Sky People with the Toruk Makto._

_It was Sa'nook, who found her very early one morning, sitting under a root of the great tree. She was twisting her queue braid frantically into knots, rocking back and forth. The clan would all join together that night with Eywa, to pray for the victory in the coming battle the next day. It would be expected that everyone would join together for the blessing, and she was afraid; afraid to connect to Eywa, frightened to find within Eywa that her mother and father had become ancestors. Sa'nook found her like this._

_Sa'nook crouched down in front of the child with a knowing look and a tear in her eye. She stilled the girl's hands and held them tight._

_"Do not be afraid, child. Eywa will hold you through it and you will not fear.", Sa'nook said with such conviction and strength that she stared wide-eyed with wonder at the odd elder that she'd always laughed at before with her friends._

_"Come."_

_She followed closely behind Sa'nook as they made their way to the nearest glowing strand. The light of it seemed to glow within her and Sa'nook gently nudged her forward._

_"Go on, child. Eywa is waiting for you."_

_She brought the bright tendril close to her face and sniffed it. Nuzzling it gently, she closed her eyes and lifted her small braid up to it and her queue connected..._

*************

Her now much larger queue tingles with the memory as she runs lightly through the forest canopy.

A new day begins.


	2. Friends and Fallen

She stops in the middle of a small grotto where the plants are heavy with ripe fruit. Breathing deeply, she inhales the sweet essence of the succulent spheres as she readies to fill her sling. If she gathers enough this morning, then that will save the trip for many new mothers, who will be busy with their babies. Such little chores are expected now that she is nearing her Initiation, not quite a child but not quite an adult either. However, she likes to help with the children since she has no age mates of her own...

*************

_"Come on! Hurry up!"_

_"Won't we get into trouble?"_

_"Not if the warriors don't catch us! You want to see one up close too, right?"_

_She and her best friend, Kishel, had climbed that morning to the very top of Hometree, where the ikran made their nests. It was a place forbidden to those with less than seven cycles because a misstep would mean a very long drop. The winds were also much fiercer here than anywhere else on Hometree and could pick up a small body and carry it far away. There was not much wind this morning but she still gripped the bark and branches with all the strength her small hands held. Kishel would often lead and she would typically follow._

_"Kishel, I don't see any... perhaps we should come back another morning..."_

_"Shhhh! Wait! Don't you see it? Look! Look there." Kishel said, pointing through the leafy foliage. She followed the outstretched arm and finger to a point above them. Just barely seen through another leafy barrier was a bright spot of orange banded blue. It moved and rustled the surrounding growth, and both children looked on, wide-eyed in wonder as a head appeared. It gave a loud squawk and they both jumped guiltily, then giggled at each other. They made it back down that morning, with none of the sleeping adults the wiser...._

*************

Remembering Kishel's carefree nature, she grins very widely to herself, and brings the next big fruit right up to her face. Taking a huge bite into it, she buries her nose in, getting the sticky sweet juices all over her face, as she quickly scrapes the inside clean of every mouthful. She laughs loudly as she licks her hands clean and as much of her face as she can.

She hops over a mossy log to a nearby stream that is shining in the morning sun. It is one of a few small runoffs that make it all the way down to the river. Compared to the mighty river itself, this stream is a only trickle, but it is useful to the clan to have it close by. She rinses her hands and face then plunges her head in for a long cold drink of water. Gasping, she brings her head above water and for a moment, she looks right into her own eyes....

*************

_Another pair of golden eyes were staring up at her._

_Fires caused by the Sky People raged all around them; they'd been running through the canopy for the safety of other nearby treetops. Flames had licked at them, confusion and terror had reigned all around them, but they'd found each other and had managed to make it to the top of a Hometree that would not stop shaking as it screamed in its death throes. However, Kishel had fallen over the edge of the branch they'd been running on, flung over by the dying shakes of the Omaticaya Clan's home for as long as anyone could remember._

_She'd grabbed at Kishel's hands, but another violent shaking had sent her flying backwards. When she'd managed to scramble back to the edge, she was just able to see a last glimpse of Kishel's face as it disappeared into the flames many feet below...._

_"EEEYWAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaa.....!"_

*************

Shaking violently, she retches and loses her breakfast in the stream. It has been some time since she's thought of Kishel... one loss among many that sorrowful day, and she's known a long time that Kishel was gone. But, this is the first time that she can remember anything of what happened when the old Hometree fell. She wishes she could lose the memory again, but fears she would never forget now. A more somber na'vi makes it back to the new Hometree than had left it this morning.

Back at the common area, the Omaticaya Clan is up and about its busy day. Groups of laughing children run here and there, generally getting in the way and making a nuisance of themselves; waiting to be fed. She runs into their midst and starts dispensing her bounty, and some of the older females look at her with gratitude on their faces. There are many children now, as the Clan has been busy rebuilding its numbers. It takes the whole clan sometimes to keep them out of trouble.

This is harder today because there is an air of particular excitement. Today, an announcement will be made of those young adults who have completed their Initiation and are now deemed worthy and ready to become warriors of the clan. Tomorrow, a select few of those will travel to the Floating Mountains and literally leap into the elite group of flying warriors by taming their own ikran. She knows most of the ones who will no doubt be selected for the trip tomorrow, they were in the age group above her own and have been her closest companions since her own age mates were lost in the Great Felling. Ever since they went through their own Initiation several cycles ago, they've grown closer to each other as budding adults and she'd been left behind...

*************

_They'd all waved back at her as she watched their tails disappear into the undergrowth that evening. Tonight, Leytal and her siblings, along with Tse'tut and Prijal were leaving for their Initiation; that period of time when age-mates are sent off into Pandora's wilderness to either learn to live and survive together or be taken back into Eywa's embrace. Their whole lives had been reaching up to this point, learning at their parent's feet what it means to be Omaticaya; how to hunt, how to live. Now they would prove that they could be adults and take their first steps onto the path of being future warriors in the Clan. How she longed to go with them, but she was too small still and would have to wait._

_For weeks she awaited their return, even though they were not expected back so quickly. She took to spending the evenings keeping watch at the Hometree's border, determined to be the one that would alert the clan to their triumphant return. She spent the time training with her weapons so that they would see she had not been idle and lazy during their absence. She had been intently trying to tickle a fish out of the stream when a distant cry rose from the base of Hometree. Her friends had returned but from a different direction than the expected one._

_Hurriedly, she ran to join the celebration and welcome them back. There was much back thumping and laughter in the clan as the Omaticaya welcomed the new adults, and she was right by their side, beaming and laughing with the rest. She went to give a congratulatory hug to Leytal, but before she could do so, Prijal patted her on the head and, smiling, said,_

"Someday you will join us and it will be great!"

_Taken aback, she watched in confusion as they all left her standing there, joining their families for tales of their adventures; talk that would last long into the night. And the next day, they all left to go hunting together, taking up the mantel of adulthood and sharpening their skills for when they became full warriors of the Omaticaya. They would laugh and whisper to each other, and make references to things that happened during their Initiation. It was not sudden and no one was unfriendly, but she felt, keenly, the loss of the intimacy she'd briefly shared with them..._

*************

For now, the children are sated. She sits down close to Sa'nook and puts the last piece of fruit unobtrusively between them.

A while later, she looks down and it is gone...


	3. Inhibitions and Ikrans

She's worn her best beads for tonight's gathering. The Omaticaya Clan is celebrating the successful return of the new Ikran Hunters. A huge bonfire is burning brightly and there is much feasting and dancing. One of the male Hunters even sweeps her off her feet for some dancing after the feast, saying something about how no one should be on their tail tonight. She is completely caught up in the jubilation.

How long she danced, she didn't know... but she was beginning to be very thirsty when a bowl of something was passed into her hands. She gulped down half of it before becoming aware that it wasn't water. She realizes it must be the drink that adults traditionally pass to each other during celebrations, and she looks around, feeling a little guilty. However, no one is paying her any mind, and since the drink was refreshingly sweet, she finishes it off.

Some time later with a warm feeling in her belly, she is resting close to the bonfire, which seems to have taken on a life of its own. She watches as the flames jump and move, seeming to imitate the motions of the dancing na'vi. The orange and red flames pull her in and soon they fill her vision...

*************

_The flame was so close that her face felt as if it would melt off her at any moment. The flames were licking at the edges of the tree hole she'd crawled into. The fire had ranged ever higher and far reaching from the Hometree, and her little legs were not quick enough to carry her before it. In her panic, she found the little hole in the thick trunk of a branch that reached out far from the outer circle of Kelutrel. She'd climbed in, hoping to escape, but the small space was becoming more heated and smoke was already filling the little hole._

_Her mind was filled with the image of Kishel's face disappearing into the flame and as the sight of the flame filled the entrance to the little cubby she was in, she could imagine Kishel's face in the fire, beckoning for her to join. She heard a scream that was not her own and a blackened figure raced by her cubby entrance. She watched and screamed herself as the poor creature finally fell and rolled off the branch. Cupping her hands to her ears so she wouldn't hear the screaming anymore, hers or any others, she prayed to Eywa harder than she'd ever prayed before. She prayed that the screaming would stop, and the fire would stop, and her parents would come and find her._

_She didn't even realize at first that she was moving. The Hometree was coming down, and coming down with it was the branch she was on and the hidey hole she was in. The breath was knocked from her as she was roughly knocked around the small space. She was roughly thrown from one wall to another and soon she couldn't tell up from down or left from right. It seemed to go on forever... but it didn't. With a last stomach lurching drop that seemed almost peaceful and smooth compared to the rest of the ride, the branch finally hit bottom._

_She was thrown completely clear of the hole and flew through the air, hitting stray branches and foliage as she dropped._

_Then everything went black._

*************

She jumps back and starts gasping for air, wide-eyed and clutching her chest. Around her, the rest of the Omaticaya clan are starting to wind down. Couples have been leaving here and there all evening, but a few hardy dancers are left around the bonfire. Some na'vi had fallen where they stood and were now sleeping soundly where they fell. Suddenly, the heat is too much for her, and she begins ascending the great Hometree. She is so desperate to get away from the heat and the memories searing her mind that she continues climbing far past the sleeping area and beyond.

Tonight the air is cool and clear; the forest so brightly lit that it seems as if the souls of the plants are eager to take flight and join the stars. On many such nights, she would climb up here to watch the ikrans. However, since the Great Felling, she'd always done so alone. She hadn't wanted to replace Kishel's memory by inviting anyone else to join her on these excursions. Usually, there is no one else up here at night when the ikrans are resting, but as she scales the thick trunk through the thinner upper branches, she catches sight of a familiar figure.

"Leytal?"

Leytal turns quickly, briefly startled, then smiles wide after seeing who is behind her. Looking a little guilty, she says,

"You caught me! It seems I cannot stay away from this one; even now, I long to fly with her among the clouds." Leytal strokes the ikran's face lovingly, soothing it's nervous squawks. Leytal is one of the new Ikran Hunters they had all been celebrating tonight. She looks at ease with her ikran, and it seems like they move as one.

"It must be amazing!"

"It is... but I was so scared at first. Then I bonded with her and it was... there are no words. I can't wait until the day comes."

"Then perhaps you should sleep, it will make the day come faster!"

Leytal laughs, "Yes, that might be best! But why are you here?"

She is taken aback for a moment at the inquiry. For she remembers a different time and place, when the same voice had asked her the same question...

*************

_"Why are you here?"_

_She looked up from her curled position on the ground. The huge bioluminescent leaf she crawled under had been lifted up and a na'vi girl a bit older than herself was looking down on her with a curious expression. The young girl crouched down and whispered,_

_"Are... are you crying?"_

_The Great War was ended and Jakesully had led them to victory. After many turns of the large orb in the sky, the Omaticaya had finally found their new home. Another great tree not unlike the one they'd lived in for generations before. It was still young in the way of great trees, but was pronounced more than fit to live in. The People called it Kelulonu, and tonight were rejoicing at the end of their long homeless journey._

_All during the day, parts of Kelulonu were sectioned off. Plans were made for the various common and sleeping areas. It was customary for each family group to work on the sleeping hammocks together; even the Hunters, who usually slept in a different section of the tree, would gather with their families for the making of the hammocks. It was a huge undertaking and the work was shared by all. For the last couple of days, every evening was spent in this way, with the Omaticaya pouring all their hopes and expectations for their new home into the task._

_She also had been caught up in the excitement of working, a few adults that she knew coming by to teach her to weave the pieces together. Surrounded by the rest of the Omaticaya, she felt the warmth and love of the Clan and worked hard. However, as she worked, she would look up and gradually took note of the groups of na'vi working together. Everyone had lost someone in the War and the groups were small, but it seemed that only she was working alone, and all of a sudden a great heaviness had descended on her young heart and she crawled out into the bush and under this leaf, to cry herself out in Eywa's bosom._

_"No...I'm not crying..." She blinked rapidly and dried her eyes on the end of her tail, which she'd been clutching to her chest._

_"Good,", said the older na'vi girl. "I heard that crying could make your eyes turn blue, then no one would be able to see them in your blue face!"_

_"That...that would be awful!" She giggled in spite of herself at the image._

_"There, that's better! Hey, I'm tired of all this weaving, would you like to go do something with me? My friend Prijal dared me to go tweak the Tsahik's tail. I don't know if I can do it, but with your big wet eyes looking up at her, I bet we wouldn't even get into trouble! Come on!"_

_The girl reached down, pulled her up, and started dusting her off. Then grabbing her hand and pulling her back towards the warm light of the clan fires, she said,_

_"By the way, my name's Leytal, what's yours...?"_

*************

A small cough interrupts the memory.

"Hey, are you okay? You seem a little far away tonight."

"What? Oh, yes, I am fine. I was just thinking... I hope I will be chosen to ride an Ikran one day..." She looks at Leytal's ikran with more than a little longing. She still has at least another cycle to go and her Initiation to go through before she can join a trip to the Floating Mountains and the Ikran nesting place. All of a sudden Leytal seems so much more grown than she, with her womanly figure and adult status.

"I bet you will! You were always good at taming mad creatures!" Leytal gives her a sly look and they both end up laughing. Leytal's ikran gives an indignant cry and flies up into the dense foliage above them.

"Ha ha! I think that's her way of saying, 'Go to bed!'", Leytal says with a smile. "Will you climb down with me?"

"I think I'll stay up here a little while longer..."

Leytal nods and turns to go, but before her head disappears down into the branches, she says,

"I really do think you'll have one of your own someday."

"I hope so."

After Leytal leaves, she sits quietly with her back against the trunk, listening to the rustling sounds of the ikran settling for the night. A bright glow catches the corner of her eye and she turns to witness a small atokirina float by. Immediately, she sends a prayer to Eywa...

Someday...


	4. Tricks and Tragedy

She had fallen asleep where she sat up near the ikran nest. And a rare morning it was; after the exhaustive celebration and emotional turmoil that followed her awakening memories, she'd slept the whole morning through. Everyone is getting a late start today so the sun was already high in the sky when the first few ikran Hunters climb up to the nesting area and find her sleeping there.

Tse'tut, one of the new ikran riders and a good friend of Leytal's, nudges his fellow hunters and points at her with a huge grin on his face. Being of the mischievous sort, he crouches down low and carefully stalks his way silently over. A few moments later, with the tip of his tail twitching against her nose, she groans and her eyelids flicker. With a mighty roar that jerks her shockingly awake, he grabbs her shoulders and shaking her roughly, yells,

"Toruk is coming! Toruk will get us all!"

*************

_"Toruk is coming! Toruk! Toruk!"_

_"Toruk! NOOOOO!!"_

_The canyon walls of the Well of Souls seem to echo with the grief of the Omaticaya Clan day and night. They had only arrived two days before and it seemed that every hour some new horror would manifest itself. Loud cries would pierce the air as the bodies of loved ones were found and flown in by the Ikran Riders. Now, a toruk had appeared in the sky, its shadow casting a long trail of darkness over everyone and everything. Alerted by commotion, she looked out from under the root where she was hiding. She watched with wide eyes and mouth open as the great red and black shape descended quickly from the sky, like a furiously screeching fireball of death._

_Many na'vi were running from it, toward the Mother Tree. However, some of the Omaticaya, tears and soot streaking their faces, merely slumped with their heads back; waiting and accepting. She watched it all, struck frozen with terror, unable to crawl back to her hiding place. Her eyes were transfixed on the beast that haunted the nightmares of all children. She didn't even notice the blue figure riding it until the toruk had landed and the na'vi slid off its back._

_Toruk Makto... he was striding right towards her, looking straight out of legend. She imagined that he had the face of her father and for a few glorious seconds her heart was as light as the tendrils of the Mother Tree. She gave a shout of joy and stood up from her crouch, reaching for the image... which strode right up to the Tsahik's daughter, some distance away from her. The image was shattered as she finally recognized the Dreamwalker that had been staying with the Omaticaya. Confused, she withdrew back under her root. This was not her father and he had not come back to her._

_Fresh tears started to flow from her eyes, even as the fate of the Omaticaya Clan shifted. At the edge of the canyon, the toruk screamed..._

*************

She lets out a small yell and still half asleep, scrambles quickly to the nearest thick trunk and flattens herself against it. The laughter of Tse'tut and the other Hunters bring her fully awake and she looks around, first in confusion and then in annoyed anger. She hisses at them, which make them laugh louder.

"Good day to you too!" Tse'tut winks at her. She narrows her eyes at him, but after a moment, has to concede he'd definitely gotten her, and she gives a begrudging grin in return and nods in his direction. Such amusements are common among na'vi children, who are used to rough and tumble sorts of play.

"I would have thought you'd be too old now for such playing." she says, throwing her chin up at him since he is a good head or two taller than she is.

"One is never too old for such things!" he grins and waves a dismissive four-fingered hand.

The other Ikran Riders have already flown off and Tse'tut now calls to his ikran with a couple of sharp cries and whistles. She bats at his tail as he passes her, but Tse'tut nimbly dodges the blow, shaking his finger at her. With a loud whoop, he leaps off the branch, barely waiting for the bond with his ikran to take hold. She watches as he flies off to join the others, remembering...

*************

_...the wind was blowing wildly through her hair, and she gave a whooping cry as her father's ikran dipped down for the descent towards Hometree. She was strapped very tightly to his back and her small arms were tight around his neck. She was full of exhilaration, as the bright yellow-banded ikran banked sharply for landing. She'd begged her father for a whole cycle to take her flying and finally today they'd been able to sneak off._

_Her father jumped from the back of his ikran onto a thick branch under the nesting area, and unlatching the straps, he twirled the small girl up into the air. She laughed and squealed._

_"Liked that did you?" he said, ruffling her soft dark hair till it stood up all over. "You won't tell your mother will you?"_

_"Never! Can we go again tomorrow?!"_

_"I wish I'd known you were going today!" a stern voice sounded from below. Climbing up the nearest trunk was her mother, golden eyes flashing._

_"I thought you had drowned in the river or something when I couldn't find you." Mother said, leaping up to join them. She and her father looked guiltily at each other, then they broke out into huge grins, and she started giggling. Her mother rolled her eyes, crossed her long arms, and harrumphed. She reached her arms out for Mother, who relented and dropped her stern appearance and then soon spun her up and over onto her own back. Nuzzling her mother's sweet smelling braids, she smiled at her father as they climbed down towards home..._

*************

She leaps lightly down the last bit of the way to the common area, smiling to herself. Her smile catches the notice of Prijal, who smiles back and waves her over. She really admires Prijal, who is tall and willowy with a wiry strength in her long limbs. She can see that Prijal is smoothing the wood grain of a bow in her lap. Now that Prijal is a full warrior of the Omaticaya Clan, she is expected to make her bow from the wood of Hometree.

"Good day Prijal, how are you?"

"I'm so glad you are here; I need a critical eye before I present my new bow to the Clan Leader." Prijal holds up the weapon. "I still need to decorate it, but it's almost finished."

"So fast? You were only announced a full warrior two days ago!"

Prijal ducks her head and blushes slightly, "I have been working day and night since. I already had the piece picked out...". Prijal smiles and lovingly strokes the bow, "I think it came out well."

She watches as Prijal expertly draws the bow back, testing the string. There is no other na'vi better with their weapons than Prijal is. Her dedication to them and to her training was much talked about among the clan, and she was well on her way to surpassing the skill of even the most experienced Hunters. It was whispered in the clan that one day she would be master of all of them.

Her eyes are drawn to Prijal's hair...it is a very un-na'vi-like short style and the wind that blows through the common area barely touches it...

*************

_Alerted by the frantic squawking of an ikran, she watched from under her root, as it flew right up to the base of the Mother Tree in the center of the Well of Souls. A male Hunter jumped off and rushed up to the Tsahik, a small limp form in his arms._

_"I found her, I finally found her... Please, Tsahik, help her! She is very badly hurt!" The hunter gently lay the na'vi child down in front of Mo'at, who was beginning to chant while she started to prepare a dressing from some of the plants that were arranged close by. Mo'at probed the young girl's injuries then turned her over to continue. She drew back and gave a great hiss, and the healing acolytes that were looking on hissed as well. Neyteri, who was close, turned her head away, clutched her queue braid, and gasped softly,_

_"Great Eywa..."_

_The child's back was a massive burn, one that reached down to the top of her tail and halfway up her head. Most of her hair was gone, as was her queue. Mo'at looked up, her eyes dark and heavy._

_"She will live...but the damage to her queue is great. It may never grow back again..."_

*************

She realizes she has been staring and catches Prijal looking at her oddly. Quickly, she turns her eyes away, blushing. The clan has become accustomed to Prijal's condition, but the pitying whispers started again when they all watched Prijal's age-mates take the trip to become Ikran Hunters...something that Prijal would never be able to do. She starts a little when Prijal unexpectedly jumps up.

"I have to go. I need some leather." Prijal starts to walk away but a moment later she stops and looks back.

"Ah, I almost forgot. I was told to tell you when I saw you that the Clan Leader is looking for you."

She looks up in astonishment. The Clan Leader...?


	5. Names and Necessity

She knows that the Leader of the Omaticaya Clan has many names. Olo'eyktan is his title; Toruk Makto is his legend; Dreamwalker is his past; and Jakesully is his birth name. As she goes looking for him in response to the summons, she remembers a much different name that she and the other children of the Omaticaya used to call him....

*************

_She had been sitting with Kishel in a small tree where they liked to braid each other's hair. Kishel's younger brother, Ki'at, would often tag along with them during the day, whether they wanted him to or not. He was almost two cycles younger than they were and therefore was "just a baby". On this particular day, they'd promoted him to keeping watch so that he would climb the tree and leave them alone. It worked...for a little while._

_"This is boring...."_

_"But it is important!" she called up to him, finishing the last of Kishel's braids._

_"Yeah, what if a toruk were to suddenly fly down? We'd definitely need advance warning!" Kishel giggled._

_"Awww, that's not going to... oh wait! I see something!"_

_"Probably his own tail..." Kishel whispered in her ear._

_"Ah! Someone is coming!" They heard excited rustling sounds from above them. "I can almost... Oh, it is only Neytiri's Fifth Finger..."_

_"Neytiri's what? That doesn't make sense."_

_"The Dreamwalker, dummy!" Ki'at shot back, leaping down to join them on their branch. "I heard some of the older kids call him that." He whispered conspiratorially. "It is because he is useless like the fifth finger on his hands and he is always around Neytiri!"_

_"That is true!" she said. "I watched him fall off a pa'li yesterday. Even with five fingers, he couldn't hold on!"_

_The three children laughed so much at this, they forgot that the subjects in question were fast approaching. Alerted by the commotion, Neytiri stopped Jake with a hand signal. After listening for a moment, she narrowed her eyes. Then, moving as silently as only an experienced Na'vi hunter can, Neytiri climbed the adjacent tree and moved to the branch immediately above the laughing trio. With a fierce growl followed by a loud roar, she dropped down in the midst of the three and knocked them off the branch._

_Caught completely by surprise, they squealed as they fell to the soft forest floor with three distinct thumps. They looked up to find Jakesully grinning at them. Neytiri landed quietly behind them and said in English to Jake,_

_"This is not funny! This is lesson! These babies make much noise in forest and now they are food for predator." Neytiri looked sternly at them all; Jake nodded and looked thoughtful, while the three children looked guilty and had their ears flattened and their tails tucked between their legs. Neytiri crouched down and looked very seriously into their young faces. She held up one slim long finger._

_"I would expect such behavior from the human, but you three know better. You know the dangers, and should be alert at all times."_

_It was a much quieter trio that watched Jakesully and Neytiri walk away. When they could no longer be seen through the trees, she looked down at Ki'at and mumbled,_

_"Told you watching was important..."_

*************

"Hey! Watch where you put your feet!"

Startled out of her reverie, she hastily speaks an apology to the na'vi whose tail she'd accidentally stepped on in her hurry to find the Clan Leader. The task itself is starting to become one of the most confusing games of hide and seek she's ever played. Everyone has seen the Olo'eyktan, but no one can tell her where he is. He had been in the common area but went off to the spring. He had been at the spring but needed to talk to the hunters. He had been at the practice area when they started but has disappeared since. No, they have no idea where he might be now. She is beginning to wonder if she will ever find him. Suddenly, a male voice shouts in her direction,

"Ah! There you are, I've been looking all over for you."

Turning around, she finds to her surprise that Jake is walking right towards her. He is wearing the full regalia of Olo'eyktan. Many leg and arm bands decorate his limbs in tribute to his deeds within the Omaticaya Clan, and the ornaments of the Clan Leader are woven into his hair. Quickly, she crouches down and lowers her head, tail whipping out to keep balance.

"I see you, Olo'eyktan. Prijal told me that you were looking for me and I was coming to find you."

"I see you; please stand up. Let's talk over here." Jake leads her to an out of the way branch. A hunter leaps up to the branch and nods at the Clan Leader before passing on his way, and then they are alone. After spending several tense moments waiting for the Toruk Makto to speak, she looks up at him, a question in her eyes. She sees that he looks distinctly nervous.

"Right..." he starts and then gives a small sigh. "I'm given to understand that your Initiation is coming up, but that due to circumstances..." Jakes stops suddenly, and then, seeming to find some inner strength, he continues softly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I understand that there are no others in your age group to take the Initiation with. I'm sorry." He gently squeezes her shoulder as her ears flatten. Her tail starts to twitch when he begins his next words.

"I believe in light of that, it would be best if you wait to take your Initiation until the next group are ready."

Involuntarily, she cries out and walks away from him. Jake looks after her in surprise. She stops a short distance away and places her hand on a nearby branch...

*************

_They had gathered together that night at Ki'at's urging. This was the first time they'd all gathered at the Tree of Voices before and they were filled with a feeling that seemed to them was very important. The light reflected brilliantly in the glowing spots on their very young faces. It gave the whole meeting a more solemn air than the na'vi children were used to. At this time of the night, they were usually tumbling together in front of the communal fire._

_"I want us all to be serious, so I figured this was the best place to meet." Ki'at started. He was standing on the top of a root in the center of the small group, who had all sat down near the ancient tree's trunk._

_"Ki'at, you are barely old enough to be in this age-group, what makes you think you can call us all together? I only came because Kishel said we were meeting." The speaker was Eyku'lan, a boy older than she by almost a cycle. Typically, the difference of ages in an age group were anywhere from two to four years, depending on the number of children that had been born. In this particular group, Eyku'lan was the oldest and Ki'at was the youngest, a difference of three years._

_"I'm old enough to be part of this group, so there! Besides, this concerns all of us!" Eyku'lan shrugged, and suddenly all the age-mates were focused seriously on Ki'at._

_"Well come on Brother, out with it!" said Kishel, who was never serious about Ki'at._

_"Right, well, I think we should all discuss about where we're going to go for our Initiation." he said importantly. A moment later, all of the children burst out with a collection of laughs, giggles, snickers, and all manner of other noises._

_"Aww, that's so far away!"_

_"So many years from now, why would we even think about it now?"_

_"Ki'at, you need a couple lengths on your tail before you should even begin to think about it!"_

_"But guys! It's important! It could affect our whole adulthood in the Clan! Don't any of you want to be hunters or ikran riders?"_

_At that, the young na'vi all started to fall silent. They all had their dreams of being grown up; and now, surrounded by the light of Eywa with the voices of their ancestors tickling the wind, those dreams didn't seem quite so far away. They talked animatedly after that and discussed long into the night. When their parents came to see them to their hammocks, they all walked a little straighter for their short years._

*************

"Look, I know it must still be painful to think about..." Jake's voice cuts through the time and separates her mind from the past. She looks back at him and says,

"No, that is not it."

She knows that the Olo'eyktan is thinking about her best interests and in truth, the thought of going on her Initiation alone does frighten her a bit. However, she knows that she would not be able to bear waiting any longer; waiting for exactly what, she can't define. She knows that she wants to be adult with her friends, and that she wants a bonded ikran of her own; but, there is something else... She feels as if she is teetering on the edge of something, and she feels that her Initiation would give her the strength to overcome it; maybe even answer the questions she doesn't have words for.

She starts pacing suddenly, moving up and down the branch they are on.

"It is true," she starts. "that my age mates were lost in the Great Felling. Kishel, her brother, and..." she closes her eyes and swallows. "...all the others." She stops pacing and stands in front of Jake.

"Ever since then, I have walked the forest paths alone. I have learned the ways to keep vigilant on my own. I am ready..." With this last she looks fiercely into the eyes of the Leader of the Omaticaya Clan. "Many thought that you would not make it, and you have done more than all of us... please do not hold me back."

Two sets of golden eyes regard each other. After a couple of moments, Jake nods.

"Ok, tell you what. Speak with the Tsahik, and if she feels you are ready then you can go. The Initiation isn't just about being able to physically survive it."

She lets out a breath that she didn't know she'd been holding. "Thank you, Olo'eyktan." Jake chuckles and claps her on the back.

"Don't thank me yet. I'm not sure what kind of mood Mo'at is in today..."

At the thought of the grim-faced spiritual matriarch of the clan, she lets out a flustered sigh.

"You...wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you...?"


	6. Songs and Sages

She does not go in search of Mo'at, the Tsahik, right away. One does not just go to see the spiritual leader of the clan at any time of the day or night; at least, not without a good reason. Certainly, hers is a good reason to go... the outcome of which will affect the course of her life, but she hesitates. She is certain that it will be no easy task to convince the Tsahik that she be allowed to take the Initiation alone.

Walking through the central ring, she passes Sa'nook; who is sitting with her back against a cut off section of log, mending one of the large fishing nets that the clan uses in the river. Sa'nook is humming softly to herself as her old fingers work knots out of the intricate netting. The tune is of an ancient traditional song of the Omaticaya. She pauses for a moment to listen to the sadly sung tune...

*************

_The Tree of Voices was ravaged and uprooted by the metal machines of the Sky People. It was one of their most sacred places; where the Omaticaya clan would go to commune and learn from their ancestors. At that moment, the leaders and warriors of the clan were meeting with the Dreamwalker, Jakesully, to learn why this travesty had been done. Whispers of anger and war were rippling through the clan like a hungry storm. During the great events going on in the middle of Hometree, the children had been shuffled away._

_She and the rest of her age-mates had traveled to the grotto of the Tree of Voices, to see for themselves if what the adults were saying was true; to see if it was really gone, and it was. The once brightly glowing tendrils of the old tree were thrown lifeless over the cracked and splintered trunks. Heaps of overturned earth were mixed with broken branches. The Sky People's machine of destruction, now inert and cold, loomed with a heavy oppressive presence over everything. Worst of all, the soft sounds of the ancestors' voices could no longer be faintly heard on the wind._

_She and Kishel held each other as the tears came swift from their golden eyes. They were not alone in this; many of the other children started to cry as well. They didn't fully understand but knew that this was something terrible; the most horrible thing that they had ever witnessed in their short lives. Eyku'lan picked up one of the now dead tendrils, vainly trying to get his queue to attach to it; however, it would not._

_Suddenly a soft voice rose up among them. Ki'at had started singing one of the ancient teaching songs. His tiny young voice strained with emotion and his eyes were closed as he tried to remember the words. One by one, the rest of them lifted their voices in the songs that they first heard from Eywa through these very tendrils in this ancient place..._

*************

"It is the song of Cha'tiri, the River Hunter. You have heard it, yes?" Sa'nook's voice interupts the songs of memory to reach her ears. Sa'nook motions for her to sit down and she does.

"Yes, I have heard it, many times."

Of course, all of the children of the Omaticaya have heard all of the old songs. Many were sung to reinforce the teachings of Eywa, to ensure that young, easily distracted minds would remember the most important lessons. The tale of Cha'tiri was about a great Na'vi hunter who made it his specialty to bring in the large creatures that would swim the depths of the river. It was sung that he had went after and hunted so many of the creatures in his prideful zeal that Eywa whispered to one of them the way to defeat him. Not long after that, he met a watery end. Sa'nook sings the last few lines in a wavering voice, afterwards she says,

"It was always one of my favorites. I always mourned for him. Even though Cha'tiri was a young fool, in my youth I always imagined him to be quite dashing and courageous and I wouldn't have turned up my tail at him. In fact, I wouldn't turn my tail up at him now!"

Sa'nook grins mischievously and she laughs along with the cackling elder. As they quiet down and Sa'nook once again takes up her task, she decides to tell the ancient na'vi about her Initiation trouble. The oldest na'vi in the Hometree listens to her with an attentive ear and realizes the source of the young girl's current fear.

"And so, now you have to seek Mo'at so she can give her blessing?" Sa'nook sighs. "That one has always been grim. Even as a stripling, she could cause a tree full of sweet fruit to sour."

She looks at Sa'nook with wide eyes; she is shocked to hear anyone speak ill of the Tsahik.

"Oh, don't look at me like that child! I've wiped the tails of everyone in this tree, AND their parents, when they were all small enough to fit in the palm of my hand. I could tell you a tale or two about Mo'at that wouldn't make her seem nearly so frightening..." Sa'nook chuckles.

"It seems like only yesterday..."

The elder's words pull her back into a long ago time and place...

*************

_"Sa'nook!"_

_Sa'nook looked up to find a young na'vi walking towards her hurriedly. She had just put the finishing touches on a new fishing net. It was late at night and the cooking fire had died down, so the bioluminescent light of Kelutrel shined brightly, lighting up her work. She grinned when she saw who was coming toward her._

_"Ah, I see you! Mo'at, did you drive young Eytukan up a tree again? If you would just let him be for a while, I'm sure his bow skills would improve enough even for you...." Young Mo'at waved a dismissive hand._

_"Pah! I have not come to talk of -him-. The time has finally come! It is time for my Initiation! Soon I will be an adult, just like you."_

_"Just like me hmmm..." Sa'nook laid aside her fishing net and regarded the youth, bouncing up and down on her heels in excitement._

_"Yes, I have waited so long."_

_"You know, Mo'at... this Initiation is not only yours. You will be taking it with your age-mates as well."_

_"Yes, yes, I know. We'll all go together, but I am sure it cannot be that difficult. We already all know what the forest is like. The important thing is we'll come back and be recognized as adults!" Sa'nook narrowed her eyes at the young na'vi and flung her fishing net out, so that the fibers could begin to dry and set together. She knew that Mo'at would learn on her Initiation that she and the other young na'vi would have to set with each other just as tightly to survive, but that was something only Eywa could teach. It was the reason for the Initiation._

_"Mo'at, I think you will find that the forest can change around you without you even being aware of it. Eywa will show you."_

_"That is my advice? Pah! I must go get ready. Good night, Sa'nook."_

_Young Mo'at jumped up hurriedly, eager to begin her task, unaware that when Sa'nook had flung her net out to dry, it had tagged the end of her foot. When she moved away, it tripped her and she fell with a loud thump to the common area floor...._

*************

She is startled out of her image of times gone by when a sudden burst of giggles interrupt Sa'nook's tale. A gathering of younger children surround her and the elder. It is clear they were listening as intently as she was, now they can't contain their mirth.

"Ha, ha!, the Tsahik was so clumsy!"

"I would never trip like that!"

"Ha, I've seen you trip over your own tail!"

As a short fierce scuffle breaks out among the children, she looks over at Sa'nook, who is giving her a knowing smile; she smiles back. A tiny voice whispers intently in the middle of the throng,

"Hey...Hey! I dare you to go tweak the Tsahik's tail..."


	7. Mothers and Meetings

The sun is very low in the sky when she begins climbing up to the platform where the Tsahik holds council with her acolytes. A soft deeply golden glow filters through the canopy, throwing leaf shaped shadows over everything. The smells from the cooking fires in the common area of the central ring rise enticingly with her as she leaps lemur-like up one of the central trunks spiraling through the middle of Hometree. Stopping for a moment, she breathes it all in, then continues ascending.

She clears the edge of the platform to find that it is empty and the Tsahik is not in sight. Sighing to herself, she crouches low, and using her tail for balance, finds a comfortable position to sit and wait. Arranged around the edges of the platform in neat rows and stacks are the many tools and implements the Tsahik uses for healing. Piles of various plants and remedies are sitting out, ready for use; some of them she recognizes and some she doesn't. A dark lavender flower catches her eye and blooms in her memory....

*************

_A single drop of rain splashed the petals of the flower that lay on the still body of her mother's mother. The entire clan came to witness the old na'vi's last act for the forest; to nourish the roots of the Tree of Voices with the body that she no longer needed, her voice joined now with the ancestors. She watched with wide moist eyes as the Tsahik placed a brightly glowing atokirina beside the flower and began to chant a prayer to Eywa. The Tsahik thanked Eywa for the life of the na'vi and for all that she did for the People and for all that she would teach the future generations of Omaticaya through Eywa and the Tree of Voices._

_She didn't understand everything that was happening. She knew only that she would never feel those comforting arms wrapped around her anymore. Tears began to fall from her eyes and she clutched her mother's hand to her small face. Her mother picked her up and carried her a short distance away._

_"Why do you cry, Little Ski'evi?" Mother asked, petting her from the top of her head to the tip of her tail. Her small shoulders shook as she buried her nose at the nape of her mother's neck._

_"I am sad! She is gone."_

_Her mother crouched down and placed her on the forest floor. She ran her hand down one of the brightly glowing tendrils and brought it between her daughter and herself._

_"She will never be gone, as long as you come here to visit." Her mother said and connected her queue to the tendril. Her mother closed her eyes and smiled and when she looked up into her mother's smiling face, her sniffles quieted. The serene face of her mother, her spots glowing fainting in time with the glow of Eywa's tendril was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She took her own tiny queue and placed it on the tendril close to her mother's. She closed her own eyes and smiled as the voice of her grandmother started singing to her...._

*************

"I see you."

Startled, she jumps to her feet and looks around for the origin of the voice. She feels as if she has been caught doing something she shouldn't; a feeling she hasn't had in a few cycles. After a moment she sees Neytiri, the Tsahik's daughter and mate of the Clan Leader. Neytiri is sitting in a shadowed hollow carved out of one of the trunks, nursing a small blue infant that seems to look at her curiously with wide amber eyes. She smiles and moves over to the two.

"I see you. How is the little one today?"

"She is well, but it has been a long day. I hope she will sleep soon."

Neytiri gently rocks back and forth, looking content. She smiles and bends down for a better look. There are five fingers on the baby's tiny hand, just like her older brother. She presses her own finger into the little palm, and the baby grips it tightly. She grins impishly up at Neytiri.

"She has a strong grip; her fifth finger should be very useful." Neytiri chuckles softly, remembering the old nickname, but she resists the urge to laugh out loud with the baby in her arms.

"I came here to speak with your mother... I mean, the Tsahik, about my Initiation."

"Then it is good that I am here." a strong voice follows her declaration. She turns quickly and sees the stately figure of Mo'at descending a short stair connecting to an upper level.

"I have already heard from Toruk Makto that you wish to foolishly go alone on your Initiation, rather than wait for the next one. Although you would wait long enough today to climb up here to meet with me..."

She blushes and gives a faint nod.

"And where would you go, for this solitary Initiation?"

*************

_"Where should we go next? We have already been everywhere!" she asked Eyku'lan; the children in their age group looked up to him as their leader since he was the oldest of them._

_"It's a surprise! Come on!" he motioned to her and the others as they made their way down to the bottom of the Outer Circle of Hometree._

_Since the time that Ki'at brought them together under the Tree of Voices, she and her age-mates had held many such meetings to discuss their Initiation. It had become a favorite past-time and a great game to them as they simulated being adults. They learned much during such games and would often take "Initiation" journeys in and around Hometree. Usually these devolved into long extensive games of Hide and Hunt, but in the end, there wasn't one branch of Hometree they felt they didn't know._

_It was little Seylu who had found their next destination that day and told Eku'lan about it. She was second in youth only to Ki'at; but she had been the smallest of them, being shorter and more slender than the others. Though she was small, the large eyes that dominated her small round face missed little. It was she who found the small tunnel behind the dense foliage that surrounded one of the oldest roots of the Great Tree. All of them were barely able to fit through the small opening, but once inside, they discovered a hollowed out area big enough for them all to sit in comfortably. It was just the thing for a small group of children who yearned to be on their own, and many dream-filled hours were spent there...._

*************

Looking up to meet the gaze of the Tsahik, she says, in a bit of a rush, but with a sudden certainty,

"I will travel to Kelutrel, the Hometree of before." She nods slightly; it feels right.

"Pah!" Mo'at waves a dismissive hand in the air and turns her back on the younger na'vi. The matriarch's full head of long braids, decorated heavily with many beads, click and clack with her movements. "The trip is too far away for Initiation."

"But..."

"No!" The Tsahik looks back over her shoulder and pronounces harshly, "There is nothing but pain and sorrow there. Kelulonu is our home now, and you should take the Initiation with others. I will not give my blessing to this."

Her ears flatten and she begins to pace, her tail lashing in frustration. With a small sound close to a growl she grabs the Tsahik's arm. "Please Tsahik!"

Mo'at twists around, hissing and baring her teeth.

She drops the Tsahik's arm and looks down quickly, ducking her head. Raising a trembling fist to her chest, she pleads.

"Tsahik, please... There is a... burning here. It eats at me and...the memories... I can not resist them..."

She falls to her knees, and for a time, she does nothing but stare at the Tsahik's feet. After what seems an eternity, she hears the older na'vi lower herself and then the small sound of the Tsahik's thorn dagger being loosed from its sheath. The Tsahik raises her head by the chin and swiftly nicks her under the collarbone with the slim thorn, close to her heart. She brings it to her mouth and considers it for several moments before rising.

Quickly, she scrambles up from the floor. The Tsahik has consulted her blood and will now give council. Heart hammering frantically inside her chest, she prepares for the elder's words. So fixated is she on the future in front of her that she fails to notice a small atokirina float by above her head.

"You will go."

Her chest deflates with a rush of air, and gasping quickly, she looks up to meet the elder's gaze.

"You will take a pa'li as far as the Well of Souls and from there make your way on foot to Kelutrel and eventually back to Kelulonu. Go now, and prepare yourself. I will come to you sometime in the next few days, when the time is right."

Wide-eyed, she quickly departs, before the decision can be changed again. Mo'at watches her leave and after a moment, Neytiri tucks her sleeping infant into a carrying sling and pads up to her mother. She places a hand on the old matriarch's shoulder.

"What did the blood tell you, Mother?" Mo'at sighs and returns the thorn dagger to its sheath.

"It was ashy and bitter in my mouth." The Tsahik narrows her eyes at the small glowing seed as it floats up through the dense canopy to disappear out of sight.

"Such blood can only be cleansed when the heart that pumps it is free. She must learn to trust Eywa..."


	8. Fears and Fishing

**So, I've come to realize that my story is rather dark and depressing. "Come on!" you might say..."How can you NOT know that your story is dark and depressing? There's death in nearly every chapter!" All I can say is that I didn't intend for it to be so; I wanted a balance. At first, it was an exercise really; I wanted to show some of the consequences of the painful parts of the movie that were sort of rushed over, in my opinion, to get to the climax. Many people have this idea of Pandora as a paradise compared to Earth because the Na'vi are so spiritually connected to their world and are, apparently, all great and skilled hunters. I was tired of reading stories that saw everything on Pandora through rose-colored lenses and, as I kept writing, I wanted to convey a story that might show some of the real dangers and trials that the Na'vi go through, so I came up with the idea of the Initiation. Those highly tuned skills possessed by the Na'vi cannot really be learned in a few months of "training". Jake himself was already intimate, painfully so, with extreme environments so I think we can acceptably believe that he was able to integrate so fast with the Na'vi. However, Pandora is a wilderness, and the Na'vi themselves are just as wild, in their way, to be able to survive in a place where predators many times their size, and even some not so big, have no problems gobbling them for dinner. Eywa keeps a balance and keeps their numbers small... how do we think she does this? It is my opinion that death is very common among the Na'vi; that there can't be a happy ending for everyone... but I also don't think the Na'vi think of death as the horror that humans do. They've obviously accepted their place in the circle of life on their world, so in general death is perhaps not something that would agonize over for long.**

**My own heroine is struggling with this, but she is only one individual and this is only one story. I've tried to strike a balance in my writing...the horrors of the flashbacks versus the relative peaceful existence that the Omaticaya have now. If you've noticed, there hasn't been much in the "present" bits of my tale to be particularly stressful about and I've tried to keep them as light hearted as possible, compared to the flashbacks. Somewhat sadly, that will have to change as I now push this young na'vi "out of the nest" so to speak. A good story almost always has some kind of conflict.**

**So... I wanted to warn you that this story may become much darker before it becomes lighter. Pandora is a world of beautiful lights, but keep in mind, the most beautiful things in nature... are typically the most deadly... I don't care what planet you're on.**

* * *

She isn't able to sleep all night; expecting at any moment that the Tsahik will come to wake her up and send her off on her Initiation. Lying awake in her hammock, she thinks seriously about her Initiation. Now that it is upon her, she realizes that she's never really known much about it. She knows that age-mates will take off together and that after some time, usually a few months or even as long as a cycle, they will come home and there will be a big celebration. She is unsure if there is any kind of ritual involved with the sending off and resolves to ask her friends about it. In the meantime, she tries hard to recall all that she knows of past Initiations. She can't remember a time when a whole group never made it back; but it is not uncommon to lose one or two...

*************

_It had been only the second Initiation since the Omaticaya Clan had settled in their new Hometree, Kelulonu. Since so many of the clan's children had been embraced by Eywa during the Great Felling of Kelutrel, the groups were small; twos and threes, instead of the usual five or six. Only three had gone out but it had been more than half a cycle and still no sign of their return. That wasn't so uncommon, some Initiations could last an entire cycle, but the parents were starting to get a little worried and so whenever a group of Hunters went out they would keep alert for any signs of the young adults._

_She had been sitting alone on a branch that extended far from the Outer Circle and was in the process of quietly observing a pair of yerik far below her when they bolted. She looked around for what could have spooked them and saw two na'vi trudging wearily through the underbrush. She was surprised for a moment that they were making so much noise on the ground instead of moving through the forest canopy high in the trees. She moved down to get a better look and saw they were dragging something along the ground. She recognized them as two from the Initiation group that had gone out just as she caught the smell of death on them. She realized a moment later that they'd all three come home...._

*************

Shivering to herself, but not with any kind of cold, she waits in her hammock only as long as it takes for the first rays of the sun to start warming the darkness from the sky. Now that she has a trip before her, she decides that she should start a small stockpile of travel rations. She will be expected, of course, to provide for herself on the Initiation, but for the pa'li ride to the Well of Souls, she will make better time if she does not have to stop and hunt often.

The trip to Kelutrel will be long, even with the pa'li ride that will take her halfway. She knows that the trip back on foot, even if she were to turn around and come right back, will be even longer. It took the clan nearly half a cycle to reach their new home but that was with everyone in tow, and carrying as much as they could. She will be quicker on her own, but will also have to face the dangers alone.

She decides on travel rations made of smoked fish because they will be light to carry and grabs a fishing net on her way through the common area. The inner circles of Kelulonu are quiet and serene in the early morning light as she makes her way out of the Hometree. The branches underneath her feet glow dimly with the last of the night's bioluminescence as she moves; their soft glow fast disappearing before the brighter light of day. She takes to the high branches and moves quickly towards the stream. She starts humming the song of Cha'tiri, the River Hunter, to herself....

*************

_With a long growl of frustration, she threw the fishing pole down and kicked it. She had been sitting on this rock beside the river for hours and hadn't caught a single fish. She'd tried everything she could think of; different bait, different line, even a different pole but nothing could entice even a small fish out of the water. She had been so happy with the thought of surprising her father that morning with a juicy fish for breakfast. She wanted to do something nice for him since he'd taken her flying on his ikran the day before._

_"Ha Ha! You will never catch a fish like that! Ha Ha!" a loud voice cackled from behind her._

_She turned swiftly and glared at the elder who ambled up past her and sat down on the riverbank with her own fishing pole. She hissed softly and sat back down on the rock with her arms around her knees, and her tail whipped back and forth. She thought that the old lady would find out soon enough that there were no fish this morning._

_"Ah! Got one!"_

_She watched incredulous, as the odd elder wrestled a good sized fish from the water, mere moments from when she sat down it seemed. Her body was still as her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. Quickly, Sa'nook placed her catch in a carrying sling and picked her stiff old limbs off the riverbed floor. She looked out on the river and for a few minutes and turned to go. As the elder na'vi passed the rock she was sitting on, she looked up and winked at her._

_"You shouldn't sit up there. You're throwing a shadow a mile long on the river and scaring the fish away, or it could just be the sour look on your face!"_

_Sa'nook's chuckling kept up until she was no longer in earshot...._

*************

Back in the present and smelling the clear invigorating scent of rushing water, she leaps from the branch she is running on out into the open air. A second later she grabs hold of a thick long hanging vine and starts sliding down on it. She sees a huddled blue figure holding a fishing pole on the edge of the bank and smiles widely. She knows of only one other early riser like herself who also likes to fish. She whistles sharply to let Sa'nook know that she is coming, in the manner of the na'vi. A few moments later she drops lightly to the stream's shore behind the elder. She calls out in greeting,

"Sa'nook, I see you! It appears we are of like minds this morning!"

She crouches down beside the old na'vi and places her hand on the thin bony shoulder. Almost immediately, the elder falls back and her fishing pole falls forward; the once lively golden orbs of her eyes are now glassy and empty, but there is a sweet smile on her wizened face....


End file.
